London councillors take home £28m a year

London councillors are taking home £28m a year in pay and allowances, it was revealed today.

Leaders of some of the most deprived boroughs in the capital have awarded themselves incomes of more than £70,000 a year, the London Evening Standard goes on to say.

The TaxPayers' Alliance wasted no time pointing out that these are handsome sums for councils who claim to be "cash-strapped".

But perhaps the fallout on Haringey council following the Baby P affair gives us all an insight into the onerous responsibilities that when push comes to shove, councillors - many of whom join councils to do their public duty - have to shoulder.

The capital has 1,854 councillors across 32 boroughs (excluding the corporation of London), meaning that £28m breaks down to an average of £15,000 each. Most are backbenchers, outside the council cabinet structure, but they hold a public duty to scrutinise the council's business and delivery.

They are responsible for ensuring our bins are collected, our streets are clean, and have to make the best use of finite budgets to ensure care for the most vulnerable people in society is not only delivered, but done so to high standards. The worst failures attract the full glare of public attention. And when they fail, like Haringey, heads rightly roll.

The London councillor earns in a range of between £6,000-£11,000 for the time they give up to support their local community. They are also the port of call when local residents have an axe to grind about local services. Should they give up all their spare time for free?